Philippines rejects Taiwan murder claims

Chen Wen-chi (C), an official from Taiwan's Ministry of Justice of Department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs, shows the statement of Resident Representative Antonio Basilio of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office during a press conference in Manila, on May 18, 2013, following the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine coastguards. The Philippines Saturday rejected Taiwan's allegations that Filipino coastguards had intentionally murdered a Taiwanese fisherman whose death has triggered a major diplomatic spat. The 65-year-old fisherman was shot dead by Philippine coastguards who said his vessel intruded into Philippine waters. Chen Wen-chi, head of the Taiwan team investigating the May 9 incident, said most of the bullets had hit the fishing boat's cockpit where its crew hid. "By combining the... evidence, it clearly shows that the Philippine law enforcers were intentionally shooting the Guang Ta Hsin 28 crew members, which indicates their intent of murder," Chen told a news conference in Manila. The shooting, which Manila insists occurred inside Philippine territorial waters but which Taipei counters happened within its exclusive economic zone, has led to Taiwanese sanctions against its neighbour. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Ricky Carandang rejected the murder allegations. "There is an investigation ongoing so any premature statements that tend to confuse the issues and inflame passions should be avoided," Carandang told AFP. De Lima in a separate statement also urged everyone to refrain from making statements "that would further fuel or aggravate the prevailing tension between the Philippines and Taiwan". Chen's comments echoed those made by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in Taipei on Friday. "If (Philippine) civil servants used automatic weapons to fire at unarmed and unprovocative fishing boats, this was not carrying out their job duties. This is cold-blooded murder," Ma said. Aquino made a "personal" apology on Wednesday over the "unintended" death arising from the patrol's duty of protecting Philippine waters against illegal fishing. Manila insisted its forces fired in self-defence to disable the boat's engine and prevent it ramming the patrol craft. Taiwan has rejected the apology. It recalled its de facto envoy, banned the hiring of new Philippine workers and staged a military drill in waters off the northern Philippines earlier this week. The Philippines officially recognises Beijing over Taipei but maintains trade ties with the island, which employs about 87,000 Filipinos. Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay Saturday urged Taiwan to ensure the safety of Filipino workers following reports of attacks by angry Taiwanese. "We heard and we read in the papers that they have been hit by bats and four have been hospitalised," Binay told reporters, according to an official transcript released by his office. "We are appealing to the Taiwanese people to spare our overseas Filipino workers from conflict," he added. Taiwanese media reported that a Filipino was treated in hospital after being attacked by a gang of youths. "We've seen reports that their leaders have assured the safety of our people there. We expect them to act on these reports (of attacks)," Aquino spokeswoman Abigail Valte said. Nearly 10 million Filipinos live or work abroad, and the tens of billions of dollars in earnings that they send home every year help prop up the Philippine economy.